For those of you who are not familiar with the Grove here at Skyway, we are a little nook of nine sites down in the lower back quadrant of the camp grounds. The kids are familiar with our area for the BIG HILL they come screaming down on weekends in the late morning and early afternoon, pedaling their bikes as fast as fast can be. It's a quieter section of the campgrounds, though we do have our moments...drive your golf cart by the Tiki bar on a Friday or Saturday night and there is a good chance you'll find 6-8 of us sharing a glass of wine and telling baldy stories from our past, or sharing the weeks news from home and work. Simply stated, for those of us secluded down in the Grove it's a perfect place to spend a weekend...ALMOST.
Last year with Linkspot, many grumbling conversations were heard among us about the lack of access to the Internet, anger expressed at the fact we could get no signal. So this year, there was great glee when we found out a new server system was being installed, a new company coming in to provide service to EVERY CAMPER in Skyway. The Grove was finally going to join the 21st Century, gain parity with those fortunates in other areas of the camp that could get online, check their emails, even check in with work when staying a few extra days!
Sadly, the great day of parity has not come to the Grove, we still (at best) have intermintant signal, and when we have signal, it's a constant battle to say signed on...even though the rates for service are not cheap.
The good news is there is a fix that will give those of us in the Grove that use the Internet access on a fair and equal basis, and in the big scheme of life, the fix is not that expensive. Seems with a bit more equipment (a repeater and/or responder) mounted down in the Grove.
You would have thought for $20,000 in initial investment in the system that Tengo would have seen signal in the Grove was an issue and addressed it...sadly, such is not the case due to what some of us in the Grove see as a loop hole in the contract...Tengo promises a connection rate of 90 percent of the camp ground. We have nine campers down in the Grove, not enough patrons to comprise more than ten percent so we again have been left out in the cold. Simply stated, though there is a fix, said fix (so states the rumor mill) is not going to be addressed until next year at the earliest, the $800 dollars or so to address the issue not in the budget.
There are at least three of us who regularly access the internet here in the Grove (two of them going through dial up currently), and a couple more who have said they might sign up and bring their computers if the service was available. For now, all we Grovers can do is wait and hope that we will get fair and equal access at some point in the future...right now discussions are underway about what can be done...perhaps a Signal Responder fund raiser? Paying almost $30 a month myself, it is dissappointing not to have RELIABLE service, and I am hopeful this issue can be resolved in the near rather than distant future.
In other news from the rumor mills...word has it that next year's seasonal fees are going to go up $180 per site...one has to wonder if that raise in fees will see the return of our dearly missed HBO? Again, this is the scuttle butt on the street and has not been verified through official channels, so do not take it as gospel.
Mark Your Calendars:
The schedule for Halloween weekend is set, and it should be GREAT FUN for all. Some highlights of this upcoming event include:
Friday Night August 8:
A bon fire and scary story time will be held down at the big fire ring adjacent to the pool.
Saturday August 9:
10:00 AM-Kids Craft Time...come down and make a bag for collecting Halloween Treats.
3:00 PM-The Childrens Mummy Wrap and Games...this is always a fun event as kids use toilet paper to make themselves into scary mummies...bring your camera!
7:00 PM-The Annual Costume Contest followed by Trick or Treating for the kids...sign up down at the office to let us know you are going to be giving out candy so we can get you a balloon to hang up in a conspicuous place on your site so the kids know which sites are participating in the treat giveaway.
9:00 PM-The Halloween Golf Cart Drive in Movie!
*Special Note-This year Skyway and The Grove will be awarding a $50 Aroma Thyme Gift Certificate to the best decorated camp site, so bring your decorations and make your sites SCREAM, "Happy Halloween!"
You might also want to mark your calendars for the weekend of August 8th when the Big Boomer (Sherwood)and his adorable cohort will be hosting Skyway's second dance of the season. The theme is a 50's-60's Sock Hop, and again a $50 Aroma Thyme gift certificate will be awarded to the couple best dressed to the theme!
For those of you who are not familiar with the Grove here at Skyway, we are a little nook of nine sites down in the lower back quadrant of the camp grounds. The kids are familiar with our area for the BIG HILL they come screaming down on weekends in the late morning and early afternoon, pedaling their bikes as fast as fast can be. It's a quieter section of the campgrounds, though we do have our moments...drive your golf cart by the Tiki bar on a Friday or Saturday night and there is a good chance you'll find 6-8 of us sharing a glass of wine and telling baldy stories from our past, or sharing the weeks news from home and work. Simply stated, for those of us secluded down in the Grove it's a perfect place to spend a weekend...ALMOST.
No comments:
Post a Comment